your eye opener in 90 seconds. >> a lot of people are hurt it's a mess. >> a tornado went through mobile alabama. >> possible twisters in texas, louisiana, and mississippi. >> also winter storm watches and warnings into the midwest and portions of upstate -- >> if you see me say high. >> the fiscal cliff is forcing the president so cut short his christmas vacation. >> he would insurablely dare house and senate republicans to oppose. >> inside the home of a gunman who shot and killed two firefighters. >> they believe to have found

human remains -- these afghans are dead after a suicide bomber instruct at an air base. >> china has the fastest train in the world, it will travel nearly 200 miles per hour. >> he was stolen from a street in new york city and now thanks to good samaritans the dog is back home. >> whoa! there goes santa! look at that. >> this sad, an alabama fan, a hat, and tickets to the bcs title game. >> we're going to the game! ♪

welcome to cbs this morning. we begin with this powerful storm system that caused a string of tornadoes that damaged buildings and knocked out hour in places like louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. it dropped heavy snow in parts of texas, oklahoma, and arkansas. >> it's blamed for three deaths and we'll check the forecast but we begin in hard hit mobile alabama where blake brown of our cbs affiliate is watching the tornado damage blake, good morning. good morning this is the scene here in mobile, we have big trees down powerlines down, roof damage and it is just hours after the storm ripped through the city. >> volatile conditions as tornadoes toucheddown around

mobile. >> i was screams and hollaring, and i was just scared to death. >> we ran into the cooler, got all of the employees in the cooler, and it came right over us. >> it blew the roofs off of homes, and on this christmas day, not even a house of worship was safe. the front wall was torn off. >> look at that tornado. >> across much of the south, many spent christmas in the dark as twisters came through. tornado winds in mississippi damaged homes, and two men were killed from falling trees. >> it's a mess. >> as a funnel cloud came from mobile joe michael love shot

this video from his home. >> what was that? >> that's transformers. >> i'm at my son's high school it's pretty destroyed. all of the portable classrooms are gone. >> reporter: and no serious injuries reported here but it is daylight and crews are now back out assessing the situation. >> thank you, the rough weather is affecting travel across the country. more than 500 flights were cancels onled on christmas day. tiffany wilson is in oxford ohio. the snow started falling around 5:00 this morning, you see the blows have just gone through, we have a couple inches of snow

blizzard like conditions are expected throughout the day. gusts of win 30 to 40 miles per hour. it makes it feel like the snow is stinging your face. drivers say the conditions are terrible. all right, let's bring bring in jeff for the weather, what is the latest on the storms? >> it's in the earn part of the country. we're expecting the severe weather threat to shift to the east today. i want to punch this full so you can see it. that's where the shrms are, on the northern and western side of this storm we have a raging blizzard. we're expecting almost a foot of snow there, and snow is now moving into northern parts of virginia. >> what about into the rest of the week? >> this storm will start to translate northeast ward and

will be a headache for most of the earn half of the country. first things first, let's talk about the severe weather today. today, it's in earn parts of georgia, north carolina south carolina, and there is a moderate risk for severe weather. that means we could see tornadoes in this area once again. as far as snowfall that strip of blew is between six and 12 inches of snow but it's towards upstate new york with lake enhanced snow one to two feet of snow wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour and a huge travel headache for the next two days, at least. >> especially at this time of year. thank you so much. we turn now to political turbulence, and the fiscal cliff gets closer. congress now has six days to make a deal.

they'll be back on capitol hill tomorrow, and chip reid is in washington. >> president obama will be arriving in washington tomorrow and both houses of congress will be back in session tomorrow. that will give them just five days to put together a deal to avoid the massive automatic tax hikes and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. >> president obama spent christmas day visiting with troops in hawaii. >> while back in washington uncertainty about the looming fiscal cliff continues. there has been to communication between republicans and democrats about how to avoid going over the cliff. before the christmas break, speaker john boehner was unable to get enough support from respects to pass his plan and help said it was up to the white house and the senate to avert the cliff. so now harry reid is believed to

be crafting a plan of his own. it's expected to extend bush-era tax cuts. it would also include short-term spending cuts instead of the massive cuts that would occur if there is no deal. it would also patch up the alternative minimum tax that will hit even more middle class families and schedule a drop off for doctors. >> if republicans do give in and support the deal being put together by harry reid that deal is expected to be far less favorable than the potential deal they had been working on with president obama. >> republican strategist, frank luntz has been talking with

voters, what is the chance you see this becomes the new compromise? >> i'm not sure if hooert side is watching very closely. we did a survey and we got two interesting questions. one that's very tough on republicans. we asked the american people who is the gop fighting for and representing, the number one answer, the rich the number two answer, big business, well back is number three hard-working taxpayers. by them fighting this on the most wealthy americans, they say once again the gop is standing up for the rich what the democrats don't understand is that the hostility towards how much washington end spends that this whole discussion of the last six weeks has been about raising taxes on the wealthy. >> let's say we get a deal and

it's short-term spending cuts and people don't have someone to blame because we don't go over the cliff, but the markets don't like it the world economy doesn't like it and ultimately our currency becomes in jeopardy as the currency of the world. >> at this point they will blame the republicans. if you can the american people to choose or dig in what they really want is to end the spending more than raising the tacks. they will accept a tax increase on the wealthiest americans. but an even higher percentage support significant spending cuts. and that's not part of the democratic package, so what i'm saying is that both sides here have a problem with the american people, and it's why congress has an 11% job approval rating.

gadhafi had an 17% approval rating, and that's from the people he was killing. how are republicans doing right now on the gun control debate? >> well the public doesn't look at it as a republican or democratic issue. in the last three or four days, more people, more families based on what i heard, spent time talking about their fear of gun violence than the fiscal cliff. it's completely different situation when you have little children killed and the public is asking if not insisting, that something be done so it doesn't happen again. >> does something get done? >> i know these people in washington, some of them may be watching now. they don't talk to each other, they don't have dialogue or conversations. this system in dc and the american people voted for it

they voted for the president, they voted to reelect republicans in the house, there is no compromise and i think that will grow as a concern among the public. >> frank, what do you make of the nra strategy here that there should be someone in every school system in america holding a gun and protecting the kids. >> that's not quite the language they used and if they did i would be more opposed today it the public wants guns out of the schools, not in the schools. i don't think the nra is listening. i don't think they understand. most persons would protect the second amendment rights and yet agree with the idea that not every human being should own a gun, not every gun should be available for anyone anywhere

anytime. they're looking for a common sense approach that says that those doing it right should be able to own a weapon but it should not be extended to everyone, every time for every type of weapon. thank you very much frank. >> pleasure merry christmas to you. >> we're learning disturbing new details today. michelle miller has the story of a man that murderinjured two firefighters murdered two others and killed his sister as well. it was a trap set by william spangler. >> we're being shot at multiple firemen down multiple firemen

shot. >> in a scenario that seems beyond comprehension, they're saying they found a note he left. >> he was going to burn as many houses as possible and do what he really liked to do which was kill people. seven homes burned down. combing through the crime scene, they said they found a body that they have been hers. >> we are afraid she may have met foul play. >> he has killed before he spent 17 years behind bars for murdering his grandmother with a hammer. police revealed he armed himself with three guns including a bush bushmaster 223, these are the two webster firefighters that

lost their live. one was a 22 year veteran, and the other was just 19. for cbs this morning, michelle miller new york. >> in afghanistan this morning, the taliban is taking responsibility for a suicide bm attack outside of a u.s. military base. no americans died in the attack and officials say the bombers vehicle exploded. the bomber did not get inside the base. >> the world's longest high-speed railroad is now running in china. the first train left beijing this morning. it runs more than 1400 miles, about the distance from boston to miami. it used to take 20 hours, and now it will take 8 with the train hitting speeds of 200

miles per hour and more. the tickets go up to $470 for the vip round. they want to build a grid of trains by 2020. the "new york times" says jerusalem will look at restrictions of what women can wear when they pray. "usa today" says that more than 170 fridayers could be set free. they must be released or resentenced because they didn't commit a federal crime or were sentenced far longer than the law allows. the health care sector is vulnerable to hackers. hospital commutersputers and medical

divisions have holes that could cause hackers to get patient's information. obesity may be declining for the first time. the age of obese obese children age 2-4 fell. and netflix is blaming amazon for an outage. netflix says it was traced back to a amazon web services. >> the cloud does not always protect you. storm clouds still over the bay area. the heaviest rain showers have left us but we still have scattered showers and they are going to continue throughout the afternoon. so you're going to need and umbrella. here's a live look at our hi- def doppler. want to zoom in towards the

south bay. that's where we're actually seeing a good sized cell now moving over parts of san jose, 880, 101, and 280. here's a look at your forecast over the next several days. we have a dry break by tomorrow and rain returns friday into saturday. this national weather report sponsored by macy's. every time you use a smartphone it can send your private information all over the

internet. >> we looked at the top 100 apps turns out half of them had some kind of privacy concerns in they are collecting or using sensitive information. >> how internet companies are using everything from instagram to angry birds to track you online. and russia's parliament moves to make it illegal for americans to adopt russian children. one family whose adoption plans are on hold and the revenge factor behind the controversial ban on "cbs this morning." this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by the u.s. postal service. schedule your free package pickup today. announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes

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love this christmas surprise. the university of alabama football fan thought he got something he really needed. there it is that new hat. but the real surprise from his son turned out to be inside the hat. >> we going to the game! we're going to the game! >> this is the sweetest reaction. >> he didn't know whether to cry or yell. >> he's so happy. >> really beautiful to watch. >> he got tickets to the bcs championship game where alabama will play notre dame. very sweet moment. makes me happy. puts a smile on my face every time. >> absolutely our favorite video of the morning. >> the whole family is into it. >> what a great surprise. welcome back to "cbs this

morning." >> we've been warned for years about the information we put online but our smartphones are sending data about us all the time. this morning, a very interesting experiment here at "cbs this >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good morning, it's 7:26. i'm michelle griego. a new layer of sandbags sits atop the levee that keeps san fransesquito creek out of a palo alto neighborhood. the creek hit near record levels over the weekend. don't forget the chains if you are driving to the sierra. they are required on all the mountain highways this morning at low levels. job growth in the bay area is expanding beyond the tech sector. the "oakland tribune" reports construction is our fastest growing industry. retail, wholesale trade, manufacturing and hospitality sectors are also seeing more jobs. >> stay with us, traffic and

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good morning. we'll start off with a live look at the bay bridge. they never turned on the metering lights so it looks good heading into san francisco. mass transit everything is back on a regular schedule. caltrans dealing with signal issues and delays. check their website for the latest information. muni, ace, bart and ferries no delays. so far this morning. we'll take one more look outside 880 and 237 in the clear. we have storms over the bay area. we have a heavier pocket over parts of the south bay and along the peninsula. here's a live look at the storm clouds over the bay. once again a heavier cell moving over the north bay, that's a live look. petaluma, 101 getting doused with rain showers. looks like scattered showers

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5-year-old tracy of alabama said she wanted her father home for christmas, and there you go. her father appeared while she was with santa. jonathan lott is in the air force, he's been stationed in germany the last three years. he said there were no words what it was like to see his family again. i would agree. >> that's a huge moment for a family. >> welcome back to "cbs this morning," everyone. let's say you got a smartphone for christmas, well you're probably learning how to use it today, but how much is it learning about you? sharyl attkisson has an eye-opening look how your smartphone is watching almost everything you do.

>> reporter: with more than a billion smartphone users, revenue from applications could soon reach $100 billion, a lot of them like flickar and instagram can turn your phone into a studio. but some have little ideas what may be sent along with the photos. do you have any idea what your smartphone collects and does in applications? >> not really not really. >> reporter: we're going to take a photograph of you and see if our expert can find it based on just the photograph. our expert is jason hong a mobile privacy specialist at carnegie melon institute. he's waiting at our washington, d.c. office to see if he can locate us on the street using only the invisible information embedded in a snapshot we'll post on the web. i'm using instagram. he's going to look at your picture and see if he can find

it based on the data in the photograph. in an instant, hong finds us at 19th and m street. all right, this is our guy. >> are you serious? >> reporter: it's not magic, if you've turned on instagram's location setting, data collected with a photo can actually display your location on a map. you want to explain to david what you did? >> i was looking at the photos and they have the location on there. >> reporter: it's all made possible in a new reality of smartphones and the way they track you using your applications, photos, and games. you looked at some of the most popular smartphone applications? >> that's right, so we looked at the top 100 apps and turns out half had privacy concerns and they are collecting or using sensitive information. this is a really fun game, you know, lots of kids and lots of adults love this. >> reporter: hong and his colleagues reverse engineered

the code from the popular game angry birds. >> this is an analysis of what angry birds for android does. >> reporter: surprisingly while you play the application quietly transmits your application and more. >> it sends a device i.d. to three different companies. >> reporter: companies can use the unique i.d. number specific to your phone to track your pattern, even build a profile of your user names and habits but hong said people surveyed were most shocked when they learned an innocent application that turns your phone into a flashlight is also recording your location and phone i.d. hong says the companies appear to want the data in part to send targeted advertising, but it's impossible to know for sure. >> once the data is outside your smartphone, it's hard to know what's going on with the data. >> reporter: in an online post the makers of angry birds writes it takes privacy concerns very

seriously and data helps create a better user experience. it does not track or store any single person's data. instagram declined comment but provides written detail about data collected and its use. on the plus side the companies believed to benefit from information is a reason why the great applications are free. >> these kinds of smartphone technologies have the potential for a lot of good but the potential for a lot of harm too in terms of embarrassment, unwanted disclosures or discomfort from being tracked. >> reporter: gibson can't get over how easy it was for him and his daughter to be tracked. what's it make you think about? >> if he can find me anybody can. >> reporter: app developers are responding by adding disclosures and written policies which it turns out almost nobody reads. if you read each policy for every website or application you use this year it could take three months of your life.

for "cbs this morning," sharyl attkisson, washington. david kirkpatrick is founder and ceo of a media company that focuses on the role of technology in business and society. david, good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> why does angry birds need to know where we are? >> excellent question and great report. they want to be able to charge more for the ads they sell to their advertisers and it's understandable, but i think that report really points to a lot of really complexed issues that we as individuals and society and legislators have not yet fully wrestled with. >> one of the complicated things here is there's no one thing you can do to protect yourself right? >> no there's no one thing, but the reality is we tend to take for granted the fact we're sort of carrying around unbelievably powerful computers that are broadcasting our location everywhere we go. two things are important there, one, there is this universe of marketers that want to sell us stuff and apps that want to sell

ads to those people and also we as individuals are not nearly as cautious as we ought to be. many people will download any interesting app. one key thing people do that i think is critical is accept friendships on facebook with people they don't really know which basically they don't realize is making all their information available. >> because we think about what the app can do and maybe we want more friends on facebook and are not thinking about what the flip side of that is what the company is gaining from it. i've been hearing the number one job next year is going to be the analyst who look at the data that gets collected off of our smartphone. >> data analytics is a huge exploding field because we're creating all this information that's extremely valuable to the commercial community, so yes, data and data analytics is one of the biggest growth areas, but i do think people are way too in-cautious about how they use their cell phones. >> do you see this as the new normal? >> it is the new normal that we are creating this data and we

are in an era when technology is advancing faster than we can really keep our arms around it. i don't think it should be the new normal that people are just getting information about us without our knowledge everywhere we go and senator al franken is delivering a bill that would require apps that send your location to others to tell you they are going to do it. >> that bill could be progress but how do they actually enforce a bill like that? >> that's a really good question. in the report it's pointing out you don't know what these apps are doing and even though apps say they are going to do one thing with your information, given they are created by companies that are themselves start-ups, they may change their policies midstream and might not abide by promises they forgot they made themselves to us. i don't know how we enforce it but i can tell you we're entering into an era where it's going to be extremely complicated. people need to be aware of what they are doing and much more

cautious. >> who's watching them by the way. someone pointed out this app called seeing tap, which is an app apparently you can use at the door when you go into a bar, uses facial recognition, tell you the ratio of men to women, the average age of the crowd, who's inside there. it's extraordinary where these apps are going now. >> there's an explosion of apps like that to help you pick people up. they are very popular. there's one that's hugely popular outside the united states but doesn't operate here and it's one of the fastest growing social apps in the world. i don't think you're going to stop those kind of apps but i think, again, if you don't know something about the company that's providing the app, you're probably taking some kind of a risk and we don't know how much in each case by accepting their app on your phone and that's scary. >> david kirkpatrick, thank you very much. >> i wish i could be more reassuring. >> plenty of food for thought. happy new year. russia has three quarters of

a million orphaned and abandoned children. a new ban would make it possible for americans to adopt any of them. we're going to look at the politics and faces that define this issue ( bell rings ) they remind me so much of my grandkids. i've been thinking about moving in with my daughter and her family. it's been pretty tough since jack passed away. it's a good thing you had life insurance through the colonial penn program. you're right. it was affordable, and we were guaranteed acceptance. guaranteed acceptance? it means you can't be turned down because of your health. you don't have to take a physical or answer any health questions. well, how do you know? did you speak to alex trebek? because i have a policy myself. it costs just $9.95 a month per unit. it's perfect for my budget.

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russia's parliament passed a bill this morning to outlaw adoptions of russian children by americans. the vote comes after years of rising restrictions in that country. >> the state department says nearly 6,000 russian children were adopted by u.s. families in 2004. this year the number fell to fewer than 1,000. as john blackstone reports, the new restrictions are causing heartbreak. >> reporter: outside chicago tuesday, the fong family celebrated christmas with hopes of adding a new member in the

new year. >> our children are very much so excited to having a baby brother. like i said, we set up his room together. >> reporter: courtney fong and his wife natasha have two biological children, nathan and cameron. in 2010 they adopted eliana from siberia and made this video about their journey to bring her home. now they want to adopt again. >> this is the crib that we have set up for our son. >> reporter: but russia is on the verge of banning all american adoptions. the measure is widely seen as retaliation for a new u.s. law that punishes russians accused of violating human rights. last week president vladimir putin expressed support for the ban, but was cagey when pressed if he would sign it into law. >> we see this as another situation where vulnerable children could be impacted by human rights issues between

these two countries. >> reporter: laurie goldheim of the american academy of adoption attorneys says the law will affect families like the fongs, as well as thousands of russian children. >> every child deserves a permanent home. they didn't ask to be in this situation, and we are doing our best to find permanent homes for all of these children. >> reporter: unicef estimates there are more than 700,000 orphans and abandoned children in russia. during the last two decades, americans adopted more than 60,000 of those children. last week in moscow there were rare public protests against the law. still, a new poll shows 56% of russians support the ban. >> bring it over here so we can see it. >> reporter: back in chicago, the fongs have a message for the russian people. >> we're the fong family. we want to provide a home to just at least one boy from russia, and we have a home we have a loving family.

we're hoping that all this can move forward and this will be the last christmas he's alone. >> reporter: but the fongs and hundreds of other american families may lose the chance to share their love with a child from russia. for "cbs this morning," john blackstone, san francisco. >> could you imagine if you're a child waiting for this and a family waiting and this goes on for years and years and years and you're just caught in the middle of that system? >> such a good point. all of those orphans in russia who could have had we are going to see on and off rain throughout the morning into the afternoon. here's live look at conditions over san jose. we will see brief dry breaks as you can see but our hi-def doppler still very busy. let's zoom in on a heavier pocket right now, looks like it's moving over the richmond/san rafael bridge. moderate to heavy rain in portions of mill valley and into the richmond-berkeley area. here's your forecast for the

next several days, drying out tomorrow. more rain on friday. brutal weather, deadly storms tore across the south and midwest on christmas day. we'll look at the damage and show you how this storm is affecting holiday travel across the country. you're watching "cbs this morning."

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he's in there. shakespeare, bill clinton, marvin gaye, a lot of people have in common. you can find their best phrases in bartlett's familiar quotations. you didn't make the list. >> maybe the 2037 version. >> maybe the next one. it's a fascinating book. today we're going to revisit interesting quotes in there for the very first time. very interesting stuff still ahead on "cbs this morning." >> you're in there. >> i'm not in there, no. to the best vacation spot on earth. (all) the gulf! it doesn't matter which of our great states folks visit. mississippi, alabama, louisiana or florida they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is

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folks in east palo alto is keeping a close eye on a levee, along san francisquito creek. new sandbags are in plac good morning. it's 7:56. i'm michelle griego. folks in east palo alto are keeping a close eye on a levee along san fransesquito creek. new sandbags are in place in hopes of preventing the creek from overflowing into the gardens neighborhood again. this day after christmas is expected to be a busy travel day at the bay area's three major airports. so far there are no significant delays locally, but there are a lot of weather-related delays and cancellations back east, in particular indianapolis, chicago o'hare, cincinnati, ohio and dulles international

airport near washington, d.c. >> stay with us, traffic and weather in just a moment.

good morning. live look at mass transit. we are dealing with major caltrain delays this morning anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. it has some signal problems. otherwise, bart, ace, muni, ferries on a normal weekday schedule and on time. 121 just reopened after being closed overnight for flooding concerns. it's open by highway 12 in sonoma county. here's a live look at the golden gate bridge. things are looking good. hi-def doppler is showing us yellows and greens. we'll zoom in towards looks like over the richmond/san rafael bridge, now moving towards the bay bridge. we have a heavier cell and rain showers continuing in the east base. it's going to look like this throughout the afternoon. steady rain has ended but scattered showers, umbrella definitely needed for the remainder of the day. drying out by thursday.

so brief dry break and friday night into saturday morning rain showers continue. then dry again sunday through new year's day.

it is 8:00 a.m. welcome back to "cbs this morning." a dangerous storm is heading for the northeast after bringing tornados to the deep south and the heavy snow to the midwest. and blue's guitar lesson is a kennedy center honoree. he'll talk about the ups

crowd. i'm sure santa treated you well. >> the damage down south there. i'm jeff glor with rebecca jarvis charlie, gayle, and norah are off. a storm is pushing into the northeast this morning after tornados in the south and heavy snow in the midwest. travelers heading home today after christmas may need to prepare for some big delays. a foot of snow is in the forecast for some spots and hundreds of flights have already been cancelled this morning. tornados skipped across louisiana, mississippi, and alabama yesterday, leaving behind miles of damage. the national weather service says it got 34 separate reports of tornados as many as 100,000 customers were left without power. in oklahoma blizzard conditions iced up roads, causing a 21-car

pileup at the junction of interstates 35 and 40. it shut down traffic for five hours there. the storms are blamed for at least three deaths in the region. jeff berardelli from miami station cbs 4 is watching the storm. what are the biggest problems today? >> still the threat for some severe weather but the threat has shifted eastward. we had it yesterday over alabama, mississippi, louisiana. now the storm system is moving towards the east into the carolinas. let me show you the radar so you can take a look what's happening across the eastern seaboard. the storm is gradually making its way east. storms and thunderstorms across the carolinas. snow is moving into west virginia and pennsylvania. biggest story right now is evansville, indiana, indianapolis, and columbus, ohio, blizzard conditions with over a foot of snow expected there. so where do we expect the most

severe weather today? eastern parts of georgia, south carolina, north carolina, and southern parts of virginia. and on northern side of this system, it's cold air, it's snow, and a lot of it. blizzard-like conditions in the ohio valley. later today and tonight, interior portions of the northeast and i think places in pennsylvania and upstate new york, maybe syracuse maybe state college, pennsylvania may see one to two feet of snow and add to that winds of 50 miles an hour, a lot of the big airports in the east effected. we're going to see a lot of travel problems during the day today. >> jeff berardelli thanks. fears for a perfect storm for an economic disaster are growing with the fiscal cliff just six days away. a new poll finds 50% of americans think president obama and congress will reach a deal in time but that number has dropped in the past week. president obama plans to cut short his family vacation in hawaii leaving for washington late tonight. yesterday, he spoke to troops at a marine corps base in hawaii.

>> on behalf of michelle and myself and our whole family we do this every year. this is where i was born so we come back for the holidays but one of our favorite things is always coming to the base on christmas day and having a chance just to meet you, those of you who have families here and to say thank you for the extraordinary work and service that you guys do each and every day. >> chip reid is in washington with more on the budget talks. chip, good morning. >> good morning, rebecca. as you mentioned, the president plans to cut short his vacation in hawaii and fly back to the white house later tonight, arriving about noon thursday. here in washington there has been no communication between republicans and democrats about how to avoid going over the cliff. before the christmas break speaker john boehner was unable to get enough support from his fellow republicans to pass his plan, and after he failed he said it was up to the white house and democratic-led senate to avert going over the cliff. now senator majority leader

harry reid is believed to be crafting a package of his own, a deal he'll dare house republicans not to pass with the end of the year deadline approaching. reid's plan is expected to extend bush-era tax cuts for households making less than $250,000 a year. it would also include short-term spending cuts instead of the massive cuts that would occur if there is no deal. the bill will also extend long-term unemployment benefits patch up the alternative minimum tax that threatens to hit even more middle class families and prevent a scheduled dropoff in medicare reimbursement to doctors. the house and senate will also return to washington from their holiday hiatus on thursday. that will give them a little less than five days to reach an agreement. if they fail automatic tax increases could send the economy back into recession. rebecca? >> thanks so much chip reid. former president george h.w. bush spent his christmas day in a hospital. the former president was

admitted a month ago for bronchitis-like cough. doctors want him to remain in the hospital to build up strength and balance his medications. a new study finds the number of u.s. troops hospitalized for heart trouble has plummeted over the last 60 years. during the korean war, about 8 out of 10 service members had signs of coronary artery disease. now it's roughly 1 in 10. reducing smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol have improved the military's heart health. they also say recent increases in obesity and type-2 diabetes have not yet affected the military. he had a remarkable career, but an even more extraordinary life. we learn this week the actor charles durning died in new york on monday. here's jim axelrod. >> reporter: known as the king of character actors charles durning appeared in more than 100 movies in a career that started in 1962. >> got to get you out of here!

>> reporter: the crooked cop in "the sting." >> you're lieutenant william snyder? >> i don't know what's up? >> i know this is kind of quick, but that's how i am. >> reporter: the love-struck widower who proposes to dustin hoffman in "tootsie." >> i love to dance. >> reporter: but it was the over-the-top governor -- >> excuse me. >> reporter: and the bumbling nazi colonel in "to be or not to be" that earned him two oscar nominations in the early '80s. charles durning grew up poor in upstate new york. he left home at 16 before starting his theater career as an usher. world war ii interrupted that career. he was 21 years old on d-day when he was in the first wave to hit omaha beach, the only man in his unit to survive. he rarely spoke about that day, but recalled the landing at the

national memorial day concert in 2007. >> i was the second man off my barge and the first and third men got killed. >> reporter: later he was bayonetted by a german soldier, before killing him with a rock. he won a purple star and three purple hearts. charles durning loved to work. if i'm not in a part he once said said i'd drive my wife crazy. for "cbs this morning," i'm jim axelrod in new york. >> you know, i'd seen a lot of his movies. i didn't know all of these details, but reading about the life that he lived, i was blown -- it is extraordinary the life that he lived. rest in peace, charles durning. just amazing. >> an extraordinary example of an american who did so many things for this country. >> and also probably played the best character actor role in

carcer actor role in "tootie" that i've ever seen in my life. >> incredible. >> one of my favorites. >> may he rest in peace. time for your local weather. the supreme court made big news in 2012. and so did jerry sandusky and john ed we'll take a look back at the legal cases that had the biggest impact this year. ahead on "cbs this morning."

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isn't it? >> don't strike a isn't it? >> don't strike a pose on the highway, please. >> if you need a perfect quote, go to shakespeare or the bible or turn to madonna, "titanic" or "southpark." you can find them in the new edition of bartlett's familiar

quotations. we'll show you what else is in there and what's new this year when "cbs this morning" continues. you know i love this. >> voig. let's see it. give me some vogue. >> not going to dance. ♪(music playing)♪ ♪(music playing)♪ ♪(music playing)♪ ♪(music playing)♪ ♪(music playing)♪ ♪(music playing)♪ oh it's clearance time! yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's clearance time! up to 50% off seasonal decor. 50% off toys. apparel $3 to $9.

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♪ bartlett's familiar quotations put out a new edition this year the first time in a decade. some are in it for the first time like steve jobs jon stewart, and barack obama and plenty more. we spoke with the men responsible for collecting the world's most memorable lines. >> ask not -- >> they range from the epic -- >> what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. >> to the outrageous. >> i love the smell of napalm in

the morning. >> some are better sung. ♪ for only love can conquer ♪ >> others can hardly be read. they are the phrases that define our world, all found side by side in one place, "bartlett's familiar quotations." if you want a snapshot of who we are and why, this is where to look. >> always be closing. >> the collection of quotes was first published by john bartlett in 1855 as a way to keep notable passages all in one place. it was then 258 pages long. >> obviously, the original edition was dominated by the bible, by shakespeare. that is what has expanded tremendously. >> the complete works of elizabeth jordan. >> geoffrey o'brien is the editor of the just-released 18th

edition of bartlett's, now a massive 1,400 pages-plus. he spent six years digesting new material, debating the old, and ultimately deciding who would make the cut. >> how do you decide what goes in? >> it is a judgment call. that's what makes it different from just googling something and coming up with you know, 100 different fragments that are unrelated. >> the latest edition contains 20,000 quotes 2,500 of them new. among them more women, more international voices, and much more media. television shows, events and interviews. >> i didn't like it. and didn't inhale and never tried it again. >> music. >> don't push me because i'm close to the edge. >> i'm the king of the world! >> and film. >> the line that people

recognize. >> i'm looking for my wife. >> that become the basis for conversation. this is the process by which quotes become familiar. >> you had me at hello. >> quotes also become familiar through crisis. >> the number of causalities will be more than any -- any of us can bear ultimately. >> 9/11 has a heavy presence in the latest edition of bartlett's, with words from allies, as well enemies. >> stalin is in there, hitler is in there. it's not simply about words of uplift and words to live by it's also the things that may have had a terrible influence. >> i'll command as best i can. >> or just an unexpected one like these three words from "southpark." >> they killed kenny. >> they killed kenny. >> they killed kenny. >> yes. >> what's the reasoning there? >> well actually one of my

colleagues insisted on that. >> yes, yes! >> in bartlett's it can be said all that counts -- >> i'll have what she's having. >> is all that matters. >> the eagle has landed. >> as long as it's familiar and unforgettable. >> good night and good luck. >> great job with that. >> sorry to geek out this morning, but i love it. i could read it all day long. >> i think you did a great job with the piece, what's your favorite quote? >> about irony but also love this randy pausch quote, you get people to help you by telling the truth, be earnest, i'll take an earnest person or hip every day, because hip is short term. >> mine is winston churchill, never give in never give in never, never, never. >> excellent. again, we could read this all morning long. bartlett's familiar quotations.

let's go to break. saw the courts hand down big decisions this year from the supreme court upholding president obama's health care well, well well. growing up, we didn't have u-verse. we couldn't record four shows at the same time. in my day, you were lucky if you could record two shows. and if mom was recording her dumb show and dad was recording his dumb show then, by george, that's all we watched. and we liked it! today's

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>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. good morning, it's 8:25. i'm for some news headlines. lots of fresh snow and traffic jams in the sierra. in the past 24 hours, there has been bumper-to-bumper traffic including i-80. chains are required for vehicles that do not have four- wheel drive. and if you are wondering about the impact on water supplies, officials say there's been a 140% increase in this year's snowpack. east palo alto is keeping a close watch over a levee along san fransesquito creek. sandbags are in place to keep the flooding. there were evacuations over the weekend but the creek is lower

now and most people are returned home. volunteers at glide memorial in san francisco are heading back into the kitchen this morning. they are preparing more meals for their day after christmas breakfast. yesterday volunteers served a christmas meal for more than 5,000 people that included turkey, gravy and all the trimmings. stay with us, traffic coming right up.

good morning. we have had super light traffic conditions all morning at the bay bridge never had to turn on the metering lights.

you can see why. no delay in the cash or the fastrak lanes at all heading into san francisco. to the nimitz now, in the east bay 880 in oakland, flowing nicely past the oakland coliseum but the southbound 880 to davis street off-ramp is shut down from flooding in the area. mass transit, caltrain experiencing major delays this morning anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. signal issues is the problem. otherwise other mass transit is on time with regular weekday schedule. rain on and off in the bay area, you can see it in our hi- def doppler. i want to zoom in to san leandro where we told you about the flooding concern. a cell is moving over the area. you will see scattered showers like this throughout the afternoon before we clear out this evening. we get a brief dry break for tomorrow on thursday and then rain showers return once again friday and into saturday morning before clearing sunday through new year's day.

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welcome back to "cbs this morning." some of the biggest stories of the year happened in the courtroom involving everything from health care, to race, to online privacy. "48 hours" correspondent erin moriarty and jack ford are here with the top legal stories of 2012. good morning to both of you. >> it was a good year. >> right? >> it was a big year. >> certainly gave us a lot to talk about. >> it did. >> absolutely did, the biggest case being the health care ruling. jack? >> i think so. big for a number of reasons. first of all, it was such an

enormous issue and such a political issue, but i think in terms of the decision what was so compelling about it was how it got decided and who was aligned, you know, nobody expected, for instance, the chief justice to be the one who was going to be the swing vote to try to get everybody together. and nobody really expected that ultimately they were going to say, remember the big issue was does congress have the power under the constitutional provision that gives them the okay to regulate interstate commerce to say you have to buy this, and if you don't, it's going to cost you money. everybody was astonished when the supreme court said yes, they do, but forget the interstate commerce stuff, it's a tax, even though it's not called a tax in the statute, so they found a really interesting way, and a curious way in some ways to get to a point they wanted to get to. >> what's interesting is how close it came to going the other way, because one month earlier, the chief justice was aligned with the concerted justices who would have voted against it.

so it was just one vote that made the difference. but i also think we learned a huge lesson as the press, because we learned that it's not important to be first when you're talking about a supreme court ruling. everybody's going to have it you know, there's no scoop. you read it carefully, because, of course, fox and cnn both went on air and were incredibly embarrassed. >> remember going back to bush v. gore, everybody announced a complete wrong result because they didn't read the opinion before everybody went on the air. >> by the way, another huge supreme court decision coming this june on same-sex marriage as well, so we'll do this all over again. erin, you were heavily involved in covering the john edwards trial. what did we learn there? >> well, i think we learned, number one i mean the justice department has had a real mixed record this year and actually the last four years. in john edwards' case he won the battle. he was acquitted on one charge

and there was a mistrial on the other, so he walked away but i think he lost the war. so i think we learned more unfortunately, about this particular individual than most of us really wanted to know. and the whole idea of him trying to come back right now, you know, he spent a fortune, maybe his fortune, on this case. he hasn't worked for four years. he's trying to get his law license back to active status. it will be interesting to see what he does next. >> moving forward. >> changed a lot of people's views about politicians, too, and their personal lives. >> it was an astonishing fall from grace. i think when all of a sudden people start peeling back the layers of your life inside a courtroom, it's not the place where you ever want to have that done. i think it also was a cautionary tale about the notion of people think they assume this great power when they are at a certain level politically, and the fact

they think the rules don't apply to them. i think one of the morals of the john edwards case regardless where you are on a pedestal rules still apply and you have to be careful about what you're doing. >> all you have is your word, now who's going to trust him when he's lied to his family and public? >> cases in 2012 have big implications moving forward, especially online privacy. i want to talk about the rutgers case in particular. this is something that's going to come back again and again, is it not? >> absolutely. this was one of the first cases where all the evidence almost all the important evidence came from online. it was his own words used against him, but this is something that shocked me this month, you would think we learned from it these are teens who might be rash about what they put online but just this month the u.s. attorney in new orleans had to resign because two of his deputies went online anonymously and wrote snarky remarks about a defendant in an

ongoing case. these are adults. these are lawyers. so it was almost like we have not learned from the rutgers case. >> no matter what you tweet, what you put on facebook -- >> another thing is the law always lags a little bit behind new technology and new developments. maybe that's not a bad thing, but we're seeing and the rutgers case was one of the situations where the law said we're going to have to catch up here to let people know what is okay and what isn't okay. >> lots more to look forward to. interesting developments. we didn't talk about, by the way, the george zimmerman trial. don't have time to talk about that. a lot to talk about that in the coming year. we certainly will, erin moriarty, jack ford thanks guys. no crime to stay home on new year's eve, but there's still plenty of time to make plans. peter greenberg is here with things to know about

it is official. ben affleck says he's not going to run for u.s. senate. affleck wrote on his facebook page yesterday, i love massachusetts and our political process, but i am not running for office. the rumor mill got busy after the actor appeared on "face the nation" and did not rule out a possible campaign. massachusetts will need to elect a new senator later this year because senator john kerry is in line to be secretary of state. welcome back to "cbs this morning," everyone. >> welcome back. new year's eve is five days away. if you're ready to celebrate, great. if you haven't made plans, there are plenty of options. here to help you out is cbs news travel editor peter greenberg. happy almost new year. >> happy almost new year. >> what's your first pick picking a hotel. >> with the exception of times square and miami beach, there are a lot of local city hotels empty during new year's eve. here's the deal do your party

there, invite friends, great discounted rooms, then the value-added deals, kids stay free, eat free and you have a great party without the craziness and chaos of other new year's celebrations. >> are you invited to a new year's party? >> my room. >> wow, wow. what about affordable new year's destinations? >> there are a lot of them. florida gulf coast, you've got des des destin, resorts as low as $109 a day. west coast, coronado $300 a night until january 5th but here's the cool thing, remember we talk about value added, they are throwing in two free massages a day, ice skating and smores on the beach, can't beat that. >> i can get on board with that. first you escape then your massage. >> then, of course las vegas. las vegas gets crazy at new year's eve, but there's lots of available rooms. we found rooms as low as $40 a

night. $150 a night at hotels on the strip. it's crazy, but great people watching. >> beyond new year's eve for 2013, what are some unconventional destinations that might be more affordable? >> look at the frequent flyer awards and the frequent flyer awards right now it's going to get worse and worse, don't pick the places you've always wanted to go not paris, not hawaii, not rome. instead, pick places you've just never been. here's what, you'll have a great time in rochester, new york texas, great time in the cook islands as opposed to just ta heeta tahiti. a lot of airlines not around anymore. do it now. >> rochester, good reference. >> like that? >> you mentioned paris, by the way. jarvis is always jet setting all over europe. >> yeah, right. >> if she's looking for her next destination, where should she go

in europe? >> by train. that's what you do. >> you can sleep on it it's your hotel room for the night. >> it is but by december 31st book this deal. you get a global pass on eurail and it gives you access to 23 separate countries. you can sleep through all of them. >> you don't have to sleep through the country, but on your way to the country. >> exactly. >> skip a night paying for the hotel. two hotel deals. >> first, hilton worldwide, 40% off on weekend stays, that's across all their brands, and the best deal of all is right here in new york you've heard of restaurant week we call the dead week. they are not calling it hotel week from january 4th to the 20th. 26 different hotels here in new york offering deals as low as $100 a night versus $500 and up from that period of time from january 4th to the 20th you

cannot beat that. >> i want to travel. >> i love traveling, although thinking about the train, i was once on an overnight train in europe, it literally shut down in the middle of the night, 2:00 a.m. they kick us out in the middle of nowhere. my friend and i were standing in the middle of nowhere between prague and budapest. they literally, the train started to take off, we ran after the train and jumped on. >> one thing you need to know -- >> like superman. >> trains in europe actually leave on time. 8:01, you missed the train. >> i've learned that lesson the hard way as well. thanks, peter. >> happy new year. >> same to you guys. speaking of buddy, buddy guy has been called one of the most inspirational musicians. he's also a kennedy center honoree. we'll hear his guitar magic, there he is, coming up next on "cbs this morning."

in the late 1950s, chicago blue guitarist buddy guy introduced a unique sound, loud and distorted that inspired many musicians to play the guitar the way he did. earlier this month, the kennedy center recognized guy for cultural influence and he talked to gayle king about his place in music history. >> there's that thing i woke up playing that night. ♪ >> reporter: this is the first song buddy guy learned as a child. john lee hooker's "boggie chillen." now 76 he sounds as good as ever on acoustic guitar. ♪

but the magic happened when guy is amplified in front of a crowd. a showman, all blues. >> one, two, three, four. >> reporter: bringing a sense of rhythm even to our interview. you saw guitar and you saw what? why you loved it so? >> because i wanted to do something nobody else could do. i want to stand out like a sore thumb. >> reporter: the son of a louisiana sharecropper, guy built his first guitar using wire pulled from window screens.

>> then the mosquitos would come in my mom would say i know i put a screen in that window. they would look and it was all stripped out. >> reporter: because buddy had taken the screen. >> took the wires out. >> reporter: to make a guitar. >> to make a guitar screen. >> reporter: his parents eventually bought him a real guitar and encouraged their son to give up working in the fields to follow his dream of playing on stage. your father said what to you? he said you got to go? >> yeah. >> reporter: what year was that? >> 1957. >> reporter: 1957. >> 8:30 in the morning, hammond, louisiana, and i got in the back of the train watched the rails as they fade away. >> reporter: heading to chicago. >> heading to chicago. >> reporter: soon after he arrived, guy was performing in the city's best-known club but for little pay. >> i was in the same blues club

and i hadn't ate in three days. all i was telling people that i was hungry they were like oh man. you can play like that you're not hungry. >> reporter: he was meeting blues legends like muddy waters. you two bonded over salami of all things. >> i was telling people i was trying to get salami. >> reporter: the blues hit guy hard in the 1960s. audiences were moving to the music of motown and blues clubs were closing. the festival circuit offered a new stage and a broader audience. you know, i went to go see you at bb king's club in new york. i met a guy at the club sparky was his name he said no flies in the butter milk no flies in the butter milk. i said what does that mean? the audience is primarily white. why do you think that is? >> i know me and bb king talked about that.

>> reporter: i get a sense you don't care what the audience is. >> music don't have a color. >> reporter: buddy guy's unique style was now influencing artists all around the world. clapton. santana. hendrix. but life on the road was ruining relationships at home. >> i dedicated myself to the music and both of my ex-wives would come down and say i'm glad you took the good times instead of me. >> reporter: why? >> i still help them. >> reporter: you have -- >> eight children. >> reporter: eight children. >> between the two. six and two. >> reporter: do you have regrets your marriages didn't work out? >> you know that's a good question. i don't know because if i had stayed there, one of them told

me it's me or the guitar, and i took the guitar. >> reporter: tell me what it is about the guitar that makes you so happy, clearly? >> because i can make people smile that are probably angry sometimes. >> reporter: by the 1980s, rock and roll giants inspired by buddy guy were collaborating with him, and before long, in spite of that jerry curl he was in the mainstream and on mtv. how do we explain the jerry curls? >> everybody else had them. >> reporter: okay. ♪ aren't we glad those days are over? >> you know just took so long to do it. sitting in that chair, waking up, rolling. >> reporter: the accolades finally arrived. six grammys, a national medal of

the arts from president george w. bush and earlier this year impromptu white house performance with president barack obama. what was that moment like for you? here you are as you said a sharecropper's son you're now at the white house. singing with the president. >> a dream come true. something you couldn't dream of. >> buddy guy. >> reporter: this month, guy returned to washington -- >> buddy, buddy, buddy. >> reporter: a kennedy center honoree. >> your blues brought us together. i think that's something to sing about. >> that's a long ways from picking cotton yes, yeah. that's a very blessing. somebody is looking down on me from somewhere, yep.

>> great stuff. >> really cool. >> makes you want to go to jarvis's old stomping ground chicago. >> buddy guy legends, yeah a lot of dancing in that bar, a fun one. >> eric clapton said 25 years ago, said buddy guy is the best guitarist alive. >> i think he was on point with that. >> good, good stuff. >> and he's 76 and still doing it. >> doing great. >> incredible. all right, you can watch the tribute to buddy guy, plus other honorees including david letterman, dustin hoffman and led zeppelin tonight at 9:00/8:00 central right here on cbs. that does it for us on this wednesday morning. up next your local news. see you right back here tomorrow morning. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good morning, it's 8:55. i'm michelle griego. the threat of more flooding is causing concerns along a creek on the peninsula. the san fransesquito creek in east palo alto is back down this morning after hitting near record high levels during the weekend rains. the california conservation corps joined city crews inputting sandbags on top of a levee. there's already been some flooding from verbena drive to daphne way. some hones were evacuated after water seeped through the -- some homes were evacuated after water seeped through the levee. people waited on interstate 80 in the sierra area and

chains are required if you don't have four-wheel drive. the snowpack is at healthy levels now increased by 140%. >> stay with us. we'll be right back.

good morning. if you are riding caltrain, major delays as we deal with this all morning signal issues, there are still systemwide

delays, from 15 minutes to an hour. everything else though good to g bart, muni, ferries, everything on a regular weekday schedule. so obviously on this day after christmas traffic not too busy across the bay area. right now if you are traveling southbound 880 approaching that davis street off-ramp it remains shut down clogged storm drains so flooding concerns. they shut down of the off-ramp. let's check on our high-def doppler radar. you can see we're still seeing scattered showers across the bay area. and a heavier cell now moving over union city towards freedom. we are going to need umbrellas throughout the day today on-and- off rain throughout the afternoon. thursday we get a brief dry break and then once again, the rain returns friday afternoon into saturday morning before really clearing out sunday through new year's day. have a great day.

>> rachael: today...oh god. >> hello. >> rachael: no no. cooking school is in session, regis takes a crack at bacon and eggs. >> watch this. >> rachael: didn't even look. my god, my dream day at the office. delicious! two nba superstars go head-to-head in the kitchen. >> i've been cooking before this guy was even born. >> what he's not telling you, he was making cereal that don't count. >> rachael: only one will emerge as the champion of our first-ever "courtside cook-off." >> smells like victory. [cheers and applause]